Jars of Clay

Jars of Clay is a rock band from Franklin, Tennessee. They met at Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois.

Jars of Clay is Dan Haseltine on vocals, Charlie Lowell on piano and keyboards, Stephen Mason on lead guitars and Matthew Odmark on rhythm guitars. Although the band has no permanent drummer or bassist, Jeremy Lutito and Gabe Ruschival of Disappointed By Candy fill these roles for live concerts. Past tour band members include Aaron Sands, Scott Savage, and Joe Porter. Jars of Clay's style is a blend of alternative rock, folk, acoustic, and R&B.

The band's name is derived from the New International Version's translation of 2 Corinthians 4:7:

“ But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. ”

This verse is paraphrased in their song "Four Seven," which appears on Frail and as a hidden track on the CD release of their self-titled album.


Band History

Formation

Dan Haseltine, Steve Mason and Charlie Lowell formed Jars of Clay at Greenville College, in Greenville, Illinois in the early 1990s. Pursuing a career in music together was not necessarily their original goal; some of the first songs they wrote together were for music and recording classes they were taking at the time. Their second guitarist Matt Bronleewe joined some time later, and drummer Scott Savage occasionally joined them for some of their early public performances.

In 1994, the band submitted a demo to a talent competition run by the Gospel Music Association and were selected as finalists. They traveled to Nashville to perform and won the contest. Back in Greenville, they self-released a limited-run of the same demo, which they named Frail, after their song of the same name. The buzz from their performance in Nashville and the demo's popularity resulted in offers from record labels, so the band decided to drop school and move to Nashville. At this time, Bronlewee left the band to finish school and settle down with his fiancée. He was replaced with Matt Odmark, Lowell's childhood friend.

1990s

Jars of Clay signed with Essential Records and started recording their first full-length album. Former prog-rocker from King Crimson and recent Christian convert Adrian Belew heard the band and offered to produce, leading to him producing two songs: "Liquid" and "Flood." Their self-titled debut released in 1995. When the single "Flood" began to climb the charts on mainstream radio stations, Silvertone (Essential's parent company) heavily promoted the song, turning it into one of the biggest mainstream hits ever by a band on a Christian label. The album has since reached multi-platinum certification according to RIAA standards.

The band toured in support of other Christian acts, such as PFR, and also with mainstream acts like Matchbox Twenty and Sting. This resulted in a small backlash from conservative Christian groups. They also released a Christmas EP titled Drummer Boy at the end of 1995. The Christmas EP was re-released in 1997 with a slightly different track listing. 1997 also saw the release of their second album, Much Afraid, produced by Stephen Lipson. The album sold well and won them a Grammy. The album was given Platinum certification in 2000.

In 1999, they released their third album, If I Left The Zoo, produced by Dennis Herring. It also earned them their second Grammy. By this time, touring drummer Savage left the band's live performance to play for Jaci Velasquez and was replaced by Joe Porter. A song from If I Left The Zoo, "Unforgetful You", was featured on the soundtrack to the film Drive Me Crazy.

2000s

In 2001 the four members of the band received Honorary Degrees at Greenville College, where three of them had studied before dropping out in 1994 to move to Nashville.

In 2002, the band produced and released their fourth album called The Eleventh Hour which earned the band a Grammy for the third year in a row. Unlike earlier albums, The Eleventh Hour was conceived as a Christian rock album,[citation needed] relying on studio musicians and the band's touring musicians to fill in for the band's lack of drums and bass.

2003 saw the band taking a look back at their career. The double-disc Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage featured an acoustic disc and a live disc. The acoustic disc consisted of reworked The Eleventh Hour songs, rearranged fan favorites, two The Eleventh Hour b-sides, and a cover of Adam Again's "Dig" (intended as a tribute to Gene Eugene, who had died recently). The live disc featured recent concert recordings that included songs from throughout the band's career.

The band continued the more acoustic and organic approach of the Furthermore studio disc on their fifth studio album called Who We Are Instead, released on November 4, 2003. On Who We Are Instead, the band revisited various styles they'd used previously, as well as experimenting with new influences, such as gospel, hymns, and Nickel Creek's "newgrass" style.

In early 2005, the band released Redemption Songs, a collection of hymns and traditional songs. The band wrote new melodies to some old hymns and rearranged the music for several others. "God Will Lift Up Your Head", reworked as an acoustic rocker, was a hit for the band on Christian radio. They also covered five hymns from the Indelible Grace CD series (a series which originated from the work of Reformed University Fellowship).[2] In late 2005, the band announced that the writing for a new album was nearing completion, and that they would be returning to the studio to record the album in the spring. This new project, entitled Good Monsters, was released on September 5, 2006. Backstage at the 2006 GMA Awards, Jars of Clay called it their first ever rock record. In the September 2006 edition of CCM Magazine, the band credited fellow artist Ashley Cleveland with inspiring the improvisational sound of the album. The magazine called it "the most profound album the Christian music community has released in years."

In March of 2007, the band announced at a concert in Des Moines, Iowa that they were no longer on Essential Records, and would be releasing music independently. Later press releases announced the name of their label as Gray Matters, which would be a partnership with Nettwerk Music Group. The band's first release on this label will be a Christmas album to be released October 16, 2007. The band is also planning to record the soundtrack to a documentary about the African village of Lwala. A press release posted on Jesusfreakhideout.com on June 22, 2007 states that the title of the band's upcoming Christmas album will be Christmas Songs. An article posted on MusicTAP.net on July 20, 2007 stated that Essential Records will be releasing a greatest hits album entitled The Essential Jars of Clay on September 4, 2007.


Band Members

-Dan Haseltine – vocals, percussion, melodica
-Charlie Lowell – piano, organ, accordion, keys, background vocals
-Stephen Mason – guitar, vocals, bass, lap and pedal steel, national, mandolin, -background vocals
-Matthew Odmark – acoustic guitar, banjo, background vocals


Discography

Jars of Clay (October 24, 1995)
Much Afraid (September 16, 1997)
If I Left the Zoo (November 9, 1999)
The Eleventh Hour (March 5, 2002)
Furthermore: From the Studio, From the Stage (February 4, 2003)
Who We Are Instead (November 4, 2003)
Redemption Songs (March 22, 2005)
Good Monsters (September 5, 2006)
The Essential Jars of Clay (September 4, 2007)
Live Monsters (September 4, 2007)
Christmas Songs (October 16, 2007)

Official Website: www.jarsofclay.com

**wikipedia.org